


The Abyss Of Happiness

by Thunderstormwithoutrage



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 05:39:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16927488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderstormwithoutrage/pseuds/Thunderstormwithoutrage
Summary: Dorian was finishing applying kohl under his eyes when he saw a tiny red head from the corner of his eye. He smiled and stepped back to admire his work. Satisfied, he put a few strands of hair back in place, and turned to Daria. The girl was watching him, half hidden behind the wall, only one eye and part of her hair visible."You can come in, you know" he said, giving her a warm smile.She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slipped inside the room without a sound.





	The Abyss Of Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> Hello !  
> Here is a little story about the new addition to Dorian and the Iron Bull's loving family.
> 
> Please note that English isn't my mother tongue, so there are probably mistakes. Do not hesitate to tell me then.
> 
> Hope you will enjoy it :)

The black smoke rising above the hill immediately caught the attention of the Iron Bull. He stopped his horse and glanced at Krem. He was staring suspiciously at the dark cloud floating above the hill.

The bartender had told them the Vashoff merchants they were heading to meet had set up their camp at the top of the Thousand Eyes hill. An uncomfortable feeling seized him at the simple thought that this smoke was emanating from this same camp. Bull nodded towards the top of the hill and hastened his horse in that direction.

 

When the Charge reached the edge of the camp, they dismounted and attached their horses. No noise greeted them, and Iron Bull moved forward, tense and alert, towards the plateau. The spectacle that welcomed them made their blood curdle and left them speechless.

There were fragments of the camp dispatched everywhere in the middle of the embers; the stalls were overturned and trampled, the tents torn, the fabrics still burning. Bodies covered in blood or burnt were laying in the midst of this disaster, Qunaris, men, women and children, but also humans.

"What happened here?” Dalish asked, looking scared and horrified.

Bull tightened his hold on his sword and walked silently, the rest of the Chargers following him. They searched the entire camp for survivors, even though it soon became clear that they would find none.  
"The attackers had to know exactly where they were.” Krem said, examining a human body. He frowned and searched the pockets of the body. He pulled out a medallion and showed it to the others.  
"That's the symbol of The Silver Stools. Seeing the interrogative look of his companions, he explained:  
"They are Tevinter assassins. But I don’t understand why they would have attacked Vashoth merchants in the middle of Nevarra."  
"They are famous for being the best jewellers in this part of Thedas, surely they have some enemies." said Rocky, picking up a silver necklace.

 

They gathered the bodies and burned in the centre of the plateau, before going back to their mounts. Skinner stopped a few feet away from the bushes and walked to a tree on her right.  
"Did you see something?” Bull asked, before joining her.

She was taking a close look at a trace of blood on the bark. Bull groaned, noting that the branches on the ground were broken. He was getting too old for this job. Without waiting, he took his weapon in his hand and launched himself through the thickets, following the tracks left by possible survivors. After a few minutes, he saw a human-shaped body lying close to a tree stump. He stepped forward, suspicious, and searched the body. As he got up, he saw two other bodies, both belonging to Qunaris. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Krem approaching.  
"We searched a bit around, we didn’t find anything. But we should look a little more, maybe they are not the only ones who have tried to flee." Bull nodded.  
"Go ahead and be careful, Grim and I will bring the bodies to the camp, we’ll meet near the horses."

Once their companions dispersed, they each dragged a body to the plateau, and Bull let Grim stand watch before going down to get the last body.  
As he walked towards the woman, he caught sight of a movement and stopped. Gripping his sword, he took a few steps, grabbed the woman's arm and turned it over, and barely held back a cry of surprise.

Two little terrified eyes were staring at him.

 

Bull closed his eyes for a moment trying to assimilate the information. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and try to look as nice as possible. He smiled at the terrified little girl, and slowly moved her hand toward her. She let out a fearful moan and recoiled.

Changing tactics, Bull dropped his weapon on the ground and knelt in front of her.  
"Hey, it's okay, I'll get you out of there.” he said to her in his sweetest voice, so as not to frighten her any more.

He stifled a grimace as he saw her chin tremble and tears rolling down her cheeks. Then her gaze drifted to a point behind her and she had another step back before her tears redoubled. He turned around and saw Krem staring at them wide-eyed. He recovered quickly and shook his head to indicate they had not found any survivors. Bull sighed and turned back to the child.  
"Hey, it'll be okay," he said again. As the tears did not seem to want to stop flowing, he tried to talk to her in Qunlat.  
"You’re going to be alright, I promise." When he saw the little one raise her head, he carried on. "My name is Iron Bull, do you want to tell me your name?”

The child did not answer, but seemed to calm down slightly, listening. He extended his hand again to her, very slowly, talking softly and waiting a few inches from her. She hesitated for a few seconds before putting her little hand in Bull's big one and moving forward to snuggle against him. Bull hugged her and kissed her temple, before getting up and heading towards the camp.

 

They decided that the child would go to the villa with the Iron Bull, where Dorian and the children were waiting for him. Once in Bull's arms, she had fallen asleep quickly, exhausted and terrified, under the reassuring words of the Tal-Vashoth. The Chargers had been heading for the border for several weeks, and had learned from the child only her name, Daria. She remained very quiet and never left Bull’s side. The other members of the Charge had tried to talk to her, but she always ended up taking refuge in the chief's arms. She seemed to understand Common but was always more attentive when she heard her mother tongue.

Dalish was trying to distract her by telling her stories about animals in the forest when they saw the villa. When they arrived at last, the Chargers went to the stables with the servants, while Bull got in with Daria.

As soon as they went through the front door, he was attacked by little arms and laughter, and leaned over to kiss the two young boys. He turned to Daria who was watching him, clutching his leg tightly with her little arms, her eyes wide open.  
"Daria, these are my children, Felix and Fenian.” He smiled at her, stroking her hair, then turned to the boys.  
"Here's Daria, she's going to stay with us for a while and-" he began, before being promptly interrupted by the cacophony of the two boys talking at the same time.  
"Where are you from? "  
"Why is your hair orange? "  
"Why are you staying with us? "  
"You're a Qunari like me and Tama! "

Daria, looking stunned, glanced alternatively between Bull and the two boys, who kept asking her questions.

The one called Felix had skin of a beautiful grey colour, similar to the one of the Tal-Vashoff, with brown hair that fell on his forehead. He was taller than his brother, Fenian, who had curly blond hair, and pointed ears. Bull smiled at her again, and with a light touch on the shoulder, encouraged her to move towards the other children. She made a tentative first step and the boys gave her a big smile, without stopping asking her questions.

"Children, do you think it is a good manner of welcoming guests? " said a soft, accented voice.

Daria's eyes widened as she heard him, and she went back to hide behind Bull, holding onto his leg even more firmly. Coming down the stairs, Dorian paused for an instant before raising an eyebrow and continuing his descent. When he approached, Daria let out a sob, then began to cry as she squeezed Bull with her little fingers, under the bewildered look of both Dorian and the boys.  
Bull turned around as best as he could and leaned over to hug the child. He whispered soft, reassuring words to her before glancing apologetically at Dorian, who was staring at him with a suspicious look, and moving off towards the rooms.

When he reached the corridor in which the boys' rooms were, he nodded at Odessa, who was at the end of the corridor. The housekeeper was an elderly Tal-Vashoth who had left the Qun many years before. She was very sweet and had an unequalled gift with the children, who all liked her for her kindness and sense of humour. When she caught sight of Daria, surprise lit her face for a moment, before she pulled herself together and looked inquisitively at the Tal Vashoth. Bull shook his head, indicating he would explain later. The housekeeper nodded, then opened the door on her right, motioning for Bull to follow her. She pointed to the bed, and he put down the little one, whose tears were still streaming down her cheeks. She tried to cling to him with a cry of despair, before Odessa leaned towards her and began talking to her gently. Daria hesitated, her eyes drifting quickly from one qunari to another, then her gaze focused on the old woman.

"Daria, this is Odessa, our housekeeper. She will take good care of you” Bull explained, smiling at the child. Then seeing the fear replace the fatigue in her green eyes, he hastened to add:  
"It's just for this night, she's used to taking care of children. We'll meet again tomorrow morning, I promise. I'll tell the boys not to make too much noise.”

Seeing that his words did not have the desired effect, he stepped forward and knelt before the child, before running his hand through her tangled hair and hugging her. He managed to catch the beginning of a shy smile and put a kiss on her temple.

"I promise you that you're safe and we'll meet again tomorrow, everything's fine now.” he whispered before getting up and giving way to Odessa. Daria let her eyes follow him to the door, before paying attention to the housekeeper. Letting out a dep sigh, Bull moved away to join his family and his Charge in the hall.

Dorian turned away from his conversation with Stiches as soon as he saw Bull reach the bottom of the steps.  
"You did not tell me you were coming back with a child, Amatus," he said reproachfully.

He wore a long, flamboyant red tunic that brought out the bronze of his skin. His hair fell on his shoulders, and he pushed a lock behind his ear before adding:  
"You left her with Odessa, I presume?”  
“She is the only survivor of a Vashoth group, I thought she would feel better with a Qunari, and she was exhausted, she needed rest.”

Dorian frowned, seemed to want to add something, but shook his head. He took a few steps and hugged Bull before tiptoeing up and kissing him. Bull closed his arms around his husband, happy to see him despite the situation. He kissed his forehead, and said wearily:  
"We'll talk about it tomorrow when she's rested.”  
“Very well. Let's eat and we'll discuss it later."

Dorian gave him a reassuring smile and grabbed his hand to led him to the dining room.

 

The sunrays filtering through the curtains woke up Dorian, who grunted and extended his arm to the other side of the bed. When his hand touched only the still warm sheets, he opened an eye and sighed. Listening, he heard bursts of laughter from the ground floor, and got up, stretching himself, got dressed, and followed the sounds to the dining room.

He smiled when he saw the scene waiting for him. Fenian and Felix, covered with flour, were waving spoons with great gestures while singing, like conductors, under the amused gaze and merry laughter of Bull and Tamri, who was seating on the knees of his father. Dorian noted that Bull's new little protégé was laughing at the boys' antics.  
She’d been with them for several weeks already and got along well with the boys. Despite shy beginnings, she had finally opened up to others, and was almost beaming, despite the almost incessant nightmares.

The mage was the only person with whom the girl was not always comfortable. Bull thought it was related to the fact that Tevinters had attacked and killed her parents, which did not reassure him. He did not like being associated with this part of his country and had redoubled his efforts to be welcoming and reassuring for the little girl. The first week had been difficult, the child running away and always clinging to Bull, but his efforts had paid off, and Daria had become well integrated. She was a smart and very curious girl.

He was drawn from his thoughts by Fenian who called him without ever stopping moving his little arms in all directions. Dorian shook his head and smiled, and moved forward to the table, noticing the smile that Daria gave him.

 

Dorian was finishing applying kohl under his eye when he saw a small red head from the corner of his eye. He smiled and stepped back to admire his work. Satisfied, he put a few strands of hair back in place, and turned to Daria. The girl was watching him, half hidden behind the wall, only one eye and part of her hair visible.  
"You can come in, you know" he said, giving her a warm smile.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slipped inside the room without a sound. When she approached him, he turned around and pulled out a stool, before beckoning her to climb on it. Once hoisted up, she watched her reflection in the mirror, and raised a hand to touch her face and hair.

Dorian watched her, a tender smile stretching his lips. His eyes met the child's gaze in the mirror, before she looked down and pointed a finger at the kohl with a quizzical look.

"Why do you put that on your eyes?” she asked, looking confused.  
“It makes them stand out, don’t you think?” The little girl frowned, then carried on:  
"But what is that for?”  
“Well, it is pretty, and I like to feel pretty.” He hesitated, then asked gently:  
"Did the members of your group not use makeup?”  
“No, Tama says... said it was useless" she replied with a sad look on her tiny face.

Dorian repressed a grimace and immediately regretted asking the question. After a moment of silence during which he wondered how to erase the miserable expression of the child's face, she said in a soft voice:  
"Sometimes, people who came to buy jewellery had black around their eyes just like you, and I thought they were very pretty.” Then she looked up at Dorian and asked:  
"Will I be as pretty as they were one day?”  
“Oh, I'm sure you'll be so pretty that all eyes will turn to you.” he replied, caressing her hair with a paternal gesture. Her plump cheeks flushed, and a big smile lit up her face when he asked, grabbing a silver comb:

"What would you say about a pretty hairstyle to start the day?"

 

Sitting in the living room with the boys, Bull was surprised to see an overexcited Daria running towards him, wearing a very proud smile, showing to the boys how her red hair was combed in an elegant braided bun.

He exchanged an amused glance with Dorian, who had just entered the living room, and then got up to put Tamri on his play mat. The boys had already taken Daria to the library, where Odessa was waiting for them to read their daily story to them.

When he straightened up, the mage's arms circled his waist, and he felt his head rest against his shoulder. He put his hand on his husband’s and turned around before kissing his lips tenderly.

"I think I've never seen her so happy since she's here. I thought she had already sneaked into the library.”  
“She was watching me from the corridor, I could only put my talents to work" Dorian answered with a smile. He bit his lower lip for a moment, then asked:  
"Have you heard anything from Krem?”  
“A letter came in this morning, they found no relatives."

He seemed to hesitate, then took a breath, and said:  
"I thought, well, she got on well with the boys, and it would be hard to look for a family that could take good care of a Vashoth child, especially a child with trauma, and she already trusts us, so I thought maybe, if she agrees, we could keep her here with us" said the Tal-Vashoth, fixing his determined gaze on Dorian's.

The mage let a relieved smile stretch his lips, before answering:  
"I would love to welcome her, if she accepts. It's been a few days since I wanted to talk to you about it, I did not know how-"  
He was cut by Bull's lips against his own, his hands tenderly framing his face, and smiled before hugging the warm body pressed against his.

Exclamations and laughter were heard from the floor, and Dorian felt a salted pearl slide down his cheek. He could never have dreamed of a better life, surrounded by a loving family, for which he would sacrifice everything.


End file.
